11 February 2022 - - France-based clinical-stage biotechnology company LinKinVax has closed a EUR 4.350m seed capital funding round, the company said.

It was led by LinKinVax's core shareholders and business angels and will enable LinKinVax to accelerate the clinical development of its innovative protein-based vaccine platform, which can be tweaked to changes and mutations in target pathogens.

LinKinVax has already risen to prominence in the French sector, with Bpifrance granting it EUR 31m under a Covid-related PIA PSCP program and government "Plan Relance", in May 2021.

LinKinVax's innovative technology directly targets dendritic cells, which play a crucial role in the immune system, stimulating and regulating immune responses.

It is predicated on work by the U955 research team at the Vaccine Research Institute/Inserm in which Inserm, University of Paris Est Créteil, and the Mondor Institute of Biomedical Research participate.

Thanks to the potential of its technology platform and the advances in its portfolio, LinKinVax aims to make a decisive contribution to the global public health challenges of infectious diseases and cancer.

The investors who contributed to the round are: André- Jacques Auberton- Hervé (co-founder and CEO of LinKinVax), Jean-Paul Kress (CEO of Morphosys), Geoffrey Duyk (US biotechnology entrepreneur and investor), Giorgio Anania, Rémi Gaston- Dreyfus and Alain Tingaud (recognized entrepreneurs in the high-tech sector).

LinKinVax's vaccine platform is built around a humanized monoclonal antibody, which is merged with regions of pathogens of interest, targeting the CD40 molecule expressed by dendritic cells, DC, which play a key role in stimulating the immune system.

The results obtained demonstrate the benefits of this strategy owing to the small quantity of antigens required to activate the immune system, with or without an adjuvant, and its ability to trigger a lasting cellular and humoral and immune response.

The platform also benefits from the experience and safety profile of the protein-based vaccines that have been widely used for over 30 years now.

Three products are in or about to enter clinical trials: a prophylactic vaccine for HIV, currently in phase I led by Inserm/ANRS-EID), a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine covering variants of interest, and a therapeutic vaccine for human papillomavirus-related cancers.

LinKinVax was founded in 2020 and is led by André-Jacques Auberton-Hervé, Honorary chairman and founder of SOITEC, and Prof. Yves Levy, MD, PhD, immunologist, and director of the Vaccine Research Institute (VRI/INSERM/UPEC).